The first USS Monocacy was a sidewheel gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. She was named for the Battle of Monocacy

Battle of Monocacy

The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace...

.

Monocacy was launched by A. & W. Denmead & Son, Baltimore, Maryland, on 14 December 1864; sponsored by Miss Ellen Denmead; completed late in 1865; and placed in service in 1866. Future Governor of American Samoa Henry Francis Bryan

Henry Francis Bryan

Henry Francis Bryan was a United States Navy Rear Admiral and the 17th Governor of American Samoa. He served as governor from March 17, 1925 to September 9, 1927. Bryan was one of only three naval governors of the territory who had retired from naval service before serving as governor, the other...

 served as her commander for some of her sailing days.

Service history

Assigned to the Asiatic Squadron

Asiatic Squadron

The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...

, Monocacy remained there until 1903, a period of service so long that the light-draft gunboat was given the nickname "Jinricksha of the Navy".

After patrol duty through 1867, Monocacy joined her squadron in representing the U.S. Government at the opening of the ports of Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 and Hyōgo

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, 1 January 1868. In December, she surveyed the Inland Sea between Nagasaki and Osaka to locate appropriate sites for lighthouses, another step in the realization of American commercial trade with isolationist Japan. The gunboat spent most of 1869 and 1870 patrolling off Japan to help check license in the restless years following the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

 in 1867.

After repairs at Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Monocacy began charting the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 on 23 March 1871. By April she was underway for Nagasaki, Japan, to participate in a five-ship survey expedition to the Salee River, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, and, while there, attempt contact with representatives of the Kingdom of Korea. After Korean shore batteries attacked screw tug near Chemulpo, a landing party of 576 sailors and 110 marines stormed a series of forts along the Salee River on 10 June, losing three killed and seven wounded. The expedition retired in July. In September, the gunboat resumed her navigation of the Yangtze before returning to Shanghai 4 February 1872.

For the last quarter of the 19th century, Monocacy cruised along the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, docking in Japan through the winter months. On 7 October 1884, while at Fuzhou

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

, China, Captain of the Afterguard William H. Belpitt rescued a Chinese man from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. From 23 October until 11 November 1899, the veteran ship carried the U.S. Minister to China as she visited the open ports of the Yangtze River.

In 1900, Monocacy became involved in the repercussions of the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

. On 14 June, she captured seven small craft off Tongku, China. The foreign persecutions ended with the capture of Peking, on 14 August, by the China Relief Expedition

China Relief Expedition

The China Relief Expedition was the name of an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to the rescue of United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted from between 1898 and 1901...

, and Monocacy docked at Taku Bar, China, where she remained through the razing of the Taku forts

Taku Forts

The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...

 in accordance with the formal settlement signed in September 1901.

On 22 June 1903 Monocacy was struck from the Navy list and sold to Hashimoto and Son, Nagasaki, Japan.

External links

• Views of USS Monocacy from US Navy Historical Center